Carter to have season-ending knee surgery

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Carter to have knee surgery, miss rest of regular season

March 22, 2002


TORONTO (AP) -- Vince Carter will have knee surgery next week, and the Toronto Raptors' star guard will miss the rest of the regular season.

He will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in Toronto, the team said Friday.

Carter has had problems with his knee since early February, and the injury has worsened the last month.

``For Vince to continue to play would risk a more serious or chronically debilitating injury, so we need to take care of this now,'' team physician Paul Marks said. ``Unfortunately, the knee hasn't responded the way we hoped through the process of conventional daily therapy.''

The Raptors, expected to contend for the Eastern Conference championship this season, have fallen out of playoff contention after losing 17 of their last 18 games since the All-Star break.

``Vince has shown great determination and dedication in giving his best effort to help our team during the last few weeks,'' general manager Glen Grunwald said. ``His desire to continue to play through the injury speaks highly of his commitment to the team and to our fans.''

Carter averaged 24.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 39.8 minutes in 60 games. He missed seven games in February with the knee injury, which forced him to miss a start in the All-Star game in Philadelphia.

In recent outings, Carter has not been as effective or mobile as usual and has looked in pain. He scored just 10 points in Tuesday's loss to Minnesota.

The Raptors, who have 13 games left, entered Friday's game against Cleveland eight games below .500 (30-38). Toronto is 11th in the Eastern Conference.